Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

In our house we love anything cooked with Bacon! We’re spoiled over her because Matt actually cures and smokes his own bacon. It’s delicious and we can cut it at the exact thickness we want. It’s also way more affordable then pre-packaged bacon. He’s made every kind from regular maple flavored to Asian spiced Bacon.

We also like spicy foods which is why this is the perfect appetizer for us because it combines two of our favorite things. It’s really simple to make which is a bonus in my book. These Bacon wrapped Jalapeno Poppers quickly became one of our favorites!

All you need to make this delicious recipe are jalapenos, cream cheese, and bacon.

First you need to cut all your Jalapenos in half and remove all they seeds and vein inside. Make sure you’re careful that for the rest of the day you don’t wipe your eyes like I did because the jalapeno on your hands will burn and it’s not pleasant. You can wear gloves if you’d like and that will keep you from accidentally burning your eyes.

That little tool pictured above is called a Jalepeno corer, I got it a few years ago and it’s so helpful in removing the seeds and vein. If you don’t have one you can also us a spoon to try and scrape the our easier.

After all the seeds are removed (make sure you get all the seeds out also because those little things are what make the peppers extra spicy if left in) you want to fill each half pepper with cream cheese. You can fill them as much or little as you like. I usually just make the filling even with the top of the peppers.

Now you’re ready to wrap the peppers with Bacon. I know I raved about our homemade bacon earlier, but for the poppers I use store bought bacon because it’s thinner and I don’t like to use the “good” bacon for poppers because it’s best appreciated standing alone.

You will use half a slice of bacon for each pepper and make sure you cut them the length wise and not just in half down the center. I made that mistake the first time I made these and it’s not easy to wrap such a short piece around the peppers.

I usually just try to tuck one end under the bacon and wrap the bacon so it finished on top of the pepper. I haven’t had a problem with them unraveling, but if you need a little extra help you can secure the end with a toothpick.

When you’re done wrapping all your peppers lay then out on a baking sheet. My pans came with a cooling rack and I use it with the pan to cook the peppers. It serves two purposes it lets the heat cook the peppers all the way around and it lets the bacon grease drip away as they cook.

Once you’re peppers are all lined up on the pan you’re ready to pop them in the oven at 425 degrees and cook for 18-20 min. Check to make sure the bacon is done, if not give them a few more minutes. Once the bacon is good it’s time to enjoy!